A rep friend of mine got married shortly after WWII and for their first anniversary his wife had been saving up grocery money and gave him a gold Rolex that she got through a family friend who was a jeweler at cost. He's not a flashy guy and never wore it much - skip forward 20+ years and their daughter is getting married and his wife suggested he dust off the old Rolex to wear to the wedding. He hadn't worn it in years and took it in for a cleaning, only to learn that it was now worth over $6K (this was in the late 60s or early 70s)! Needless to say he was amazed and now keeps it in the safe deposit box rather than his sox drawer!

Sadly those older gold models have not gone up since, I have one circa 1977 and it is worth ~$6-7K, the new one is $22K.....

When my grandfather died he left me a WWII era gold rolex. It was valued at around $25k at the time (1999). So your 77 era may be worth $6-$7k but those 70 year old models are worth a lot more in pristine condition. Mine is in a safety deposit box as well.

When my grandfather died he left me a WWII era gold rolex. It was valued at around $25k at the time (1999). So your 77 era may be worth $6-$7k but those 70 year old models are worth a lot more in pristine condition. Mine is in a safety deposit box as well.

Value is fairly relative when it's a family heirloom and, like you, I'm certain that Bill would never part with his 1940s gold Rolex for any amount of money. If I recall correctly, his wife paid something like $600 for it that she saved a buck here, 50 cents there from her household money - the sentimental value to him far outweighs any possible monetary gain.

Value is fairly relative when it's a family heirloom and, like you, I'm certain that Bill would never part with his 1940s gold Rolex for any amount of money. If I recall correctly, his wife paid something like $600 for it that she saved a buck here, 50 cents there from her household money - the sentimental value to him far outweighs any possible monetary gain.

When I was asked by my wife why I don't wear it...

I said I couldn't live with myself if it was stolen. Not because of the monetary loss but it was my Grandfathers. I've been thinking more and more about getting it out of the box though... and just wearing it.